Coastal+Zones

__Coastal Zones could you add some references?__

The coastal zone biome, also known as the littoral zone, is where the land meets the sea and its organisms have adapted to both wet and dry environments because of this. This biome has the greatest diversity of flora and fauna due to it being located near land and sea. The coastal zone consists of three sub regions called supralittoral zone, eulittoral zone, and sublittoral zone. The supralittoral zone is an area above the high tide line. Although the area is regularly splashed by seawater, it is never completely submerged by it. The eulittoral zone, also known as the shoreline, is an area that is above water during low tide but becomes submerged at high tide. The sublittoral zone consists of the shallow regions that is permanently under seawater. This biome can be found throughout the world as water covers about 70% of the world and anywhere where the sea touches land is a coastal zone.

__Flora:__ As there are many different coasts found in many different geographical areas, the exact flora found on certain coasts will almost never be the same as a coast somewhere else in the world. However, some of the more common coastal plant life include:
 * Palm trees
 * Beach grass
 * Olive trees



__Fauna:__

Although coastal biomes can feature different vegetation depending on the geographical location of the biome, the wildlife on the coast tends to remain the same throughout the world. The fact that coastal zones cover both land and water allows for a great variety of animal species to make the coast their home. All the animals that live in coastal biomes have to be prepared to face daily changes in their environment like having the water level skyrocket due to high tide. Some of the well-known creatures that inhabit coastal biomes are:
 * Seagulls
 * Pelicans
 * Crustaceans, such as crabs and lobster
 * Sea urchins
 * Shallow dwelling fish



__Temperature:__ Since coastal zones are located in different locations throughout the world, there can be variations in temperature depending on whether the coastal zone is a tropical zone or a temperate zone. As one would expect, temperate coastal zones are much colder and receive more precipitation than tropical coastal zones. Tropical coastal zones are located near the equator, which causes them to receive more sunlight than temperate coastal zones. Climate in tropical zones tends to remain the same year round, with temperatures staying mostly between the mid-70s and 80s. Temperate coasts tend to have temperatures in the mid-50s to 60s.



__Human Impact on Coastal Zones__ Due to the fact that around 60% of the world's population lives within close proximity to the coast, humans have a great effect on the world's coastal environments, and vice versa. Humans depend on the biotic and abiotic parts of coastal ecosystems for a variety of different things, including food, energy, and living space. Things like the economic benefit of living near the sea and tourism cause humans to flock to coastal zones, usually to the detriment of whatever fragile systems were there in the first place.

Coastal industry and construction has a massive impact on social ecology. From industrial or processing plants to the alteration of land to make room for building, there are many processes or goals that require the use of resources found in coastal systems. Creating these, however, results in the disruption of many natural processes found in the ecosystems. Pollution is often a large issue when industrialization goes too far in a coastal environment, resulting in dirty water or air that makes it difficult for coastal organisms to live. Coastal dumping into ocean waters poses a large threat to the aquatic organisms found along the coast. Another issue comes with the alteration of coastal environments through the filling of inlets or estuaries to make more land for expansion. This can result in less space for aquatic organisms and problems with coastline erosion. This has been compounded in recent years with rising sea levels and sinking landmasses, forcing people to look for more environmentally safe ways of expanding in coastal areas.

Another issue facing coastal zones is that of tourism. Although many people crowd to beaches around the world for their beauty and ecology, they threaten those very things with their presence. The vast amounts of people that come to beaches test the limits of those particular ecosystems. With large amounts of people comes increased pollution and disturbance of wildlife and ecological patterns. Many tourist-heavy coastal areas are beginning to limit the amount of tourists that can visit the beach at a time in order to slow the negative effects they have on the environment.